Surgical splint.



1. L. NYLANDER.

SURGICAL SPLINT.

' ON FILE!) OCT. 16. 1916 l 33 1 12, I Patented July 10, 1917- JOSEPH L.NYLANDEB, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

SURGICAL SPLINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11), 1917.

Application filed October 16, 1916. Serial No. 125,832.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. NYLANDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of lVashington,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Splints;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same,

This invention relates to surgical splints for supporting broken limbs;and it consists of a contractible casing for the limb constructed ashereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view 0 a splint constructedaccording to this invention. Fig. 2 is an end view of the splint,showing the limb in cross'section.

The body of the splint is formed of two curved plates 2 of aluminum orother equivalent material which is very light, flexible and resilient,but yet sufliciently stiff to hold the broken parts of the bone inposition, and which is translucent to the X rays to a greater extentthan human bone.

These two curved plates form a tubular casing adapted to fit around thebroken portions of the limb, and they have longitudinal stiffening bars3 at their edges and at suitable intermediate intervals. These bars arealso 'formed of aluminum, and they may be secured to the plates 2 byrivets 1 or in any other convenient way.

Screws 5 are pivoted by pins 6 t0 lugs 7 on the edges of one plate, andthe other plate has lugs 8 secured to it. The screws are slidableloosely in holes in the lugs 8, and they have thumb-nuts 9 screwed onthem. These nuts enable the plates to be contracted upon the limb. Thelimb 10 has a suitable bandage 12 wound around it. This bandage is ofsoft material, such as textile goods, and it is relatively thin. Thesections of the splint are contracted by the screws upon the band age soas to hold the parts 14 of the bone in a position to unite, and thesections are contracted from time to time as the flesh of the limbshrinks or as swelling in it goes down.

With plaster casts, as ordinarily used, the casts become loose when theswelling of the flesh goes down, and the broken bones some times fail tounite in consequence of not being held satisfactorily in position.

The translucence of the aluminum to the X rays enables photographs ofthe bone to be taken as often as desirable, so that the exact positionof the broken portions of the bone can be ascertained.

What I claim is:

1. A surgical splint, comprising two curved plates of thin and flexiblesheet metal, longitudinal stiffening bars secured to the adjacent edgesof the said plates and at intermediate points, and fastening devicessecured to the said edges.

2. A surgical splint, comprising two curved plates of thin and flexiblesheet aluminum which is more translucent to the X rays than a humanbone, longitudinal stiflening bars secured to the adjacent edges of thesald plates and at intermediate points, and fastening devices secured tothe said edges.

In testimony whereof I have aiflxed my signature.

JOSEPH L. NYLANDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

